


You care about the fact you were saved(You don't care about who's doing the Saving)

by JBreaker2033



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Shazam! | Captain Marvel (Comics)
Genre: A bit ...grimdark?? I guess?? Just alotta feelings of bitterness. That good stuff., Angst, Bittersweet, Bittersweet Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, One Shot, but yeah this is really bitter, if ur looking for a feel good fic DONT READ. Bc this aint the place lmao, wrote and edited this in ONE TAKE so forgive any mistakes......pls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-15 22:03:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21025436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JBreaker2033/pseuds/JBreaker2033
Summary: The World doesn't care about the other side of things.The people who need to be saved don't care about the other things you need to do.The villains don't care about the life you live without Capes.You have to live life knowing that you weren't there, and people died because of it.Some people step out, grief clouding and stress building, with the hope of a new life.And some people step in permanently.(Some people step in without wanting to. But you gave it your all, and now it's time to give even more...)"If you have the ability to do good, then it's your responsibility to use that ability."(...whatever it takes to save a life. Even if that means giving up yours.)





	You care about the fact you were saved(You don't care about who's doing the Saving)

William Batson, 23 and full of life, dies on June 8th.

_ (No one knows that is the date of his parents deaths, as well.)_

He was found in his home, in his bed, with no signs of foul play. His heart ceased to beat any longer, and people accept that with no hesitation. They are too busy mourning.

His twin, Marilyn Batson, died long ago. His closest friend Freddy Freeman is nowhere to be found. Eleven people come to his funeral, and one of those is a man in a black suit with a somber expression on his face.

_(He knows of a man who controls Lightning with his hands.)_

He pays his respects, stays for 5 minutes, and leaves. 

The other ten are simply coworkers from WHIZ Radio, who have come to mourn their most talented Radio Host.

_(They mourn not only the loss of a fellow employee, but a man who embraced them all with open arms. His smile could light up a day, his hugs were warm and welcoming, and when he talked everyone talked with him. _

_They remember nights of broadcasts where everyone was laughing, weeks of staying in spare rooms in his home because they had nowhere else to go, gifts for birthdays and holidays and heartfelt cards for every occasion.)_

They remember his bright blue eyes that reminded everyone of lightning, his strange fascination with the Greek Gods, and his motto when people asked him why he did what he did.

"Be good and good will follow, no matter where you happen to be."

Tears are shed, and the closed casket is lowered into the ground.

_(Buried with a purse full of gold coins, and two silver pieces covering his eyes. Golden bracelets around his wrists and a yellow sash around his waist. There is a reason he is buried this way, but no one will know.)_

That day, there is a thunderstorm that shakes Fawcette City to its core. 

The skys mourn for William 'Billy' Batson.

But few people do. 

\----

Captain Marvel, bruised and beaten, lays on a Watchtower infirmary bed with his eyes closed. Batman stands over him, cape and cowel and all. Most people would be alarmed, most would be scared, but the Captain just smiles and open his eyes.

_(Electric blue that shine in the dark, but few people have ever seen <strike>William Batson</strike> Captain Marvel in the dark, not when he tries so hard to be in the light.)_

_"_If I had known you were going to visit, I would have made myself look nicer." The man jokes, voice sly and even.

The cowl's eyes narrow.

"William Batson died."

The Captain sighs and his eyes shift to the left, looking at a window on the other side of the infirmary that offers a view of the inky blackness that is...Space.

Underwhelming, the Captain thinks. Just like this conversation.

_(He loves the stars and planets. But the emptiness reminds him of experiences he'd rather forget.)_

"He did. He was a good man." There is sorrow in his voice that is hard to catch, but this is Batman and Batman never misses a thing.

_(Including the pseudo-Funeral that took place one month earlier.)_

"Why." 

Batman knows who he is.

_(Or rather, who he was.)_

Batman has known for a long time, and he thinks he knows the answer to this as well.

_(He doesn't want to. Not really.)_

Captain Marvel just smiles, a sad thing that is so out of place Batman almost startles.

"The World needs Captain Marvel more than it needs William Batson." He says, with an air of finality and an edge of bitterness in his voice. 

_(The League doesn't care about the fact he had a job he loved. The League doesn't care about the life he wants to live. The League cares about the things he does outside of that, they care about the people he saves and the missions he needs to go on. The League wants him permanently.)_

Batman just nods. 

The Bat knows he is luckier than most, to be where he is and be able to balance his life and his...other life. He knows of heroes that have had to leave the world of Spandex and Kevlar permanently, and knows of heroes that have given up on ever leaving.

Batman leaves the room, and the conversation leaves with him.

\------

It was a choice to leave.

But it...it really wasn't.

He had a job he loved, a house he payed for, a family he cared for, and a life that was good. 

But the lives of many matter more than the lives of one.

It is his job to do good, his job to care and to cherish life, and he _will_. Just because he is a little sad and maybe just a little hateful, that doesn't mean he will stop caring. He could _never_ do that. He doesn't have it in him.

But when he watches the World from a window in the Watchtower, peers through the store windows when he goes from city to city, looks at the families and the people living their normal lives...

He can't help but just feel a little. Bit. Bitter.

"Everyone has the choice to do good, to be better_-"_

_(And this was his choice...)_

"-But some people have the _responsibility_ to save those who can't save _themselves_."

_(...and there's no going back.)_

_\-----_

**Author's Note:**

> This was just a bitter, angsty little idea I had. 
> 
> Considering Captain Marvel is the World's Mightiest Mortal, I think one day he would eventually have to just...give up on living a regular life, and dedicate himself to being one of earth's Protectors full time. 
> 
> Poor guy. Anyway, what do you think? :]
> 
> ((Come visit me at Tumblr, at JBreaker2033. I post art there and all that good stuff :] ))


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